The adventures of a chastised husband who loves cycling.

Catching Up

It has been a whirlwind around here for the past few weeks. Sure the session with the nipple anchor was brilliant. Sure, MrsL is still leaving me out of the Steelheart which I am really starting to miss. However, it has not been uneventful.

First, we did buy a boat! After looking at numerous types/styles, a dozen different dealers, and local marinas we stumbled upon this little gem.

We are the proud owners of a 23′ Tahoe Pontoon. We have lived on this lake for 17 years and have never so much as dipped a toe in the water. Part of that was simply raising two boys who were more focused on baseball and band. Part of that was…well…we just couldn’t afford to buy one. Yeah, we could have joined one of the numerous boat clubs and gotten to try all types of boats but we didn’t. To MrsL and me, that is akin to buying a time share: a big “membership” fee followed by yearly payments all for a “guarantee” to have a boat every 4th or 5th week. Didn’t make since. Oh well, we take delivery next week but will not be able to go out until Labor Day weekend. You see, I’m surprising MrsL next weekend with a trip to the Dirty Dancing Festival over in western North Carolina. It is her birthday present. She loves that movie and the festival is located in the small town and on the lake where it was filmed…complete with a “lake lift” competition for those couples brave enough to give it a shot. I’m excited because she also wants to learn to Shag (for my readers not from the southern U.S. or overseas, shagging is style of dance…not having sex) and they have free lessons at the festival. I’m so excited because she is going to be completely surprised.

So, I can’t wait to be tooling around our lake and find some quiet little back cove where we can have some adult fun….!

Last weekend 22 and I had an awesome Father/Son experience. We are both huge Drum Corps fans. Yes, I was and still am a huge band geek….it is just drum corps is marching band on steroids. Each corps is comprised of 125 fifteen to twenty-one year old musicians and color guard. It is all brass and percussion…no woodwinds allowed (sorry woodwind players). I’ve been hooked on drum corps since 1982 when I went to my first ever DCI show. There is nothing like experiencing the wall of sound that hits you right in the face when one of these corps hits their first musical “statement” of their shows. The season is a short 52 days culminating in the world championships in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium. This trip was 22’s graduation present as his love of drum corps is as strong as mine. If you want a little sample of the power and clarity of a DCI brass line check out Carolina Crown’s brass line warming up HERE. This year’s champion hails from Santa Clara, CA…Santa Clara Vanguard. Their show was called “Babylon” (Note, this video belongs to FloMarching and is shared for educational purposes only). This show was incredible and a crowd favorite…including me!

The organization that sponsors this annual event is Drum Corps International. The event is truly an international spectacle of music and arts. In the 25 semi finalist there were 100+ international members from as far away as Japan, Australia, and several European countries. There is a division called Soundsport which host drumline competitions and indoor “mini” marching band competitions. It was a full on geek out week end for both of us. The best part is being able to go into a restaurant and have your son order a drink with you and just talk.

One of my other favorite shows was Boston Crusaders. Show titled S.O.S and this was their opening set. At the end of the show, the entire corps (except the color guard) disappeared under the tarp to the right showing a beach theme. It was brilliantly executed.

Oh, yeah the medical scare. Well, there were actually two.

I am on weekly testosterone replacement. After years of struggling with erectile dysfunction, low energy, low stamina, and the inability to lose weight I researched all of the available clinics and have been on TRT for a few years. Well, part of the treatment and monitoring process is checking my PSA (prostate specific antigen) score for prostate issues. Well, I had two PSA scores in a row near the upper limit of “normal.” Now I think the jury is still out on the effectiveness of PSA monitoring prostate health. For every medical study that says high PSA scores are indicative of prostate cancer there is an contradicting study that says PSA scores are not worth the paper they are listed on and men should stop having this test. Ultimately, based on my research, 7 out of every 10 men who reach the age of 70 have some minor prostate cancer and many men live with it in the latter years and never know they have it.

Anyway, my urologist threw up all of warnings after the second elevated score and insisted on a biopsy. Even though I fought it and sought two other opinions all of the doctors recommended it. Thankfully, that biopsy came back negative! So much for the first scare. I am still on my TRT and feel like a teenager!

The second scare centered on my neck. In a routine visit to my family doctor to get a refill authorized, she freaked out because my Adam’s apple (which is very prominent) was “off center.” She had never noticed it being off center (nor had I for that matter) and immediately started prodding and poking for a “mass” all the while stating it could be nothing.

Well a referral to an ENT and a CT scan found…get this…NOTHING. I guess my Adam’s apple has always been slightly askew. No mass. No swollen lymph nodes. NADA. The ENT did say I have a minor abrasion to my vocal cords and I need to limit my talking for a few weeks to let it heal (that ain’t happening…) but other than that I was just a bit asymmetrical.

We actually postponed the Dirty Dancing Festival until next year. Without telling her what her surprise was I gave her the option of canceling the hotel and just enjoying our boat. She asked if we could still do what I had planned next year and when I said yes…she immediately said cancel the hotel. We had a blast last weekend.

The weekend, 27 and his girlfriend are coming in for a visit and some lake time. It’ll be the four of us and our (hopefully) soon to be daughter in law. 22’s girlfriend can’t make it, unfortunately!